


The Rookie

by Littlecrownmermaid



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse), Resident Evil - All Media Types, Resident Evil 2 - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - No Zombies, Gen, My First Fanfic, Umbrella is not evil
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-10-29 22:59:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17817161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Littlecrownmermaid/pseuds/Littlecrownmermaid
Summary: I wanted to make a story where there was no zombie outbreak, and how Leon's first day would have really been like without this horrible tragedy.





	1. Chapter 1

A rookie was driving down a dark road, it had rained a couple hours before, and he was running low on gas. He sighed in relief when he noticed a large neon sign a little down the long straight road. It was a small gas station with no more than 3 pumps, and a store complimenting the small appearance. The rookie came out of his car and quickly started the process of pumping gas to his car, he was ready to head out when his hunger demanded snacks for the road, so he finished and headed to the convenience store. Entering the white-lit room after a black night was slightly irritating to his eyes, but he quickly adjusted and continued on to his quick shopping. As he was looking through the various snacks he heard another vehicle pull up. It was soon followed by a female voice which continued to get closer to the store every second, she sounded as if she was reassuring someone, but there was only one voice the entire time.

“-No, I mean, I understand. Don’t worry yourself so much, besides they told me my brother should be home from his mission by now... I’m just worried.” She was talking to someone from a cell phone.

This conversation caught the rookie’s attention, he knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but he told himself that it’s not his fault for her loud talking. There was a long pause, the rookie could hear loud screaming on the other side, yet the woman looked almost as if completely accustomed to it. He also noticed how attractive she was, her natural red hair and blue eyes were striking yet elegant like a mythical creature, and her porcelain skin could give her camouflage on any snowy day. The woman looked up to notice his stare, they both looked away quickly and headed opposite directions. The rookie payed for his snacks, and bumped into someone as he turned around, he then noticed it was the red-haired woman.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that, I wasn’t looking at where-”

“You don’t have to recite your apology letter to me, just let me pay for my stuff, please.”

“Of course, I’ll be out of your hair now, have a nice night.”

The woman silently thanked him, and the rookie left feeling embarrassed. He felt as if he did _everything_ wrong, he eavesdropped on her conversation and unintentionally stared at her like a _creep_ the entire time.

The rookie entered his car and drove to the city trying to shake off the embarrassment, and he eventually saw a large sign with the city’s name: _Welcome to Raccoon City!_ This made him sigh in relief, for he had been driving for a couple of hours.

He recently graduated from the academy, applied to many jobs thereafter, and got rejected by all but one. He accepted having to move to the city, he couldn’t afford a plane ticket, so he drove the entire way. It had been more time consuming and frustrating than he initially thought, but he pushed forward just as he learned in the academy. When he entered the city the lights were captivating, he had spent too much time training and studying at the academy that he forgot how beautiful cities are at night. The lights looked like stars from a distance, and the buildings looked like they were  _touching_ the stars. He was already making the first couple of steps to a new life, with a little rocky start, but he won't let that stop him.


	2. Moving in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon decides to spend his day trying to properly move in.

After a few stops to ask for directions, the rookie finally made it to his apartment, he hadn’t realized how out of touch with cities he really was. He felt like a rat in a maze, the city was huge with the buildings looking completely identical, but he eventually made it to the cheese. Thankfully driving instead of flying earned him enough money for his security deposit on his apartment, but that doesn’t stop his dislike with driving the entire way.

The apartment felt ominous, with the only light coming from the neon signs, but this was the rookie’s new home so he has to get used to it. He places the box in his hand slowly on the floor in order to turn on the lights, and it changes the environment instantly. The walls are all an elegant beige in the open living area, the restroom has a beautiful mint-green paint job, and the only bedroom is a white-sand color. He liked how simple it was, the colors look more fitting than the pictures implied, and he can see this as the perfect living space to start in. The rent isn’t cheap, but it’s definitely affordable. He might need to skip on eating out for a couple of months, but he’s not a stranger to that. He continued bringing boxes to his apartment from his car, he thankfully only needed to go up one flight of stairs every time, and he only had light items in his boxes. He quickly finished, noting to properly move in when he buys furniture, he goes to the bedroom and finally notices a queen-sized mattress with only a bed frame in the middle of the room. The rookie  _ had _ mentioned to the landlord that he had no furniture (including a bed) to bring to his new apartment, but it didn’t cross his mind that the landlord would actually provide a temporary bed for him. The rookie undressed to his underwear and quickly fell asleep on the naked mattress, which was surprising from the constant noise of the outside world, but the entire trip definitely drained him.

After a semi-good night’s rest the rookie immediately started his morning routine, since he made it to the city later than he would’ve wanted he had to get his bathroom supplies out of their box. His first day starts tomorrow, Monday, so he decided to spend this day taking a trip to the furniture store in hopes of actually finding cheap furniture. The rookie spent hours out on this endeavor, he luckily found a variety of small-sized furniture on sale: a dresser, a dining table with two chairs, a desk and desk chair. He had to assemble them all except the chairs, which took up the rest of his day, but he didn’t mind considering it all cost him less than $200. He decided to spend some extra time in taking out his stuff from their box in order to officially move in, he placed his stuff where they belong: All his clothes in the dresser, the small amount of dishes in the cupboards, his bathroom items in the  _ bathroom _ and his laptop on the desk. When he finally finished his clock on top of the dresser read 11:30, time really flies when you're busy moving in, so the rookie called it a day and slept on the  _ still _ naked bed. He took a mental note to buy pillows and sheets as soon as he has the money, yet he can’t help but to be grateful for even having a bed. This will be the last time he will sleep before becoming an official police officer, which both scares and excites him, and this keeps him up for a while before he finally passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your support, I've read your comments, and I'll try to put more chapters as soon as I can. I still don't know if my chapters are too short or too long.


	3. First day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon finally starts his first day, but is completely lost.

A loud annoying alarm woke up the rookie in the morning, he had to get up to slam the clock on his dresser that was perpendicular to his bed, which helped with waking him up. He stretched as he slowly realized that  _ today _ was his first day, he takes his morning shower, with hope to at least look presentable enough for a good first impression. He wears his favorite black leather jacket with a grey shirt underneath, dark jeans and white sneakers, he blow dries then combs his hair, and sprays what little of his old cologne he has left. After going over his mental to-do list he grabs his car keys, that were on the kitchen counter facing the front door, and he goes straight to the police station. He remembers they told him to look for a huge building with a clock tower, he passed it while on his way to the furniture store, so he has a pretty good idea of where to go. 

It took him a good 15 minutes to get to the police station, from there he entered and was astonished by the size of the lobby, was this really a police station? He noticed the 2 people at the receptionist desk, he goes up to one of them for directions.

“Good morning, can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, what can I help you with sir?” The receptionist looks around the same age as the rookie, and he had long hair like him, he could easily be his long lost twin.

“This is actually my first day, and I just need-”

“Oh! You’re the new guy? That’s great, I didn’t know what time you were coming since I have different hours from the other officers, I come in earlier than everyone else, but the Lieutenant  _ did _ give me a map for you.” The receptionist grabbed three papers right next to his computer, and handed them to the rookie.

“A map, is this place  _ really _ that big?” The rookie grabs the map and notices how many rooms it had in each floor.

“We used to have rookies like you get lost all the time, so whenever we had a new guy we just gave them a map along with everything else for their first day. You have to get your uniform from the locker rooms that are right there,” 

He was then pointed to the locker rooms in order to change into his uniform, the rookie thanked him and went on his way, a little scared of getting lost. Once he reached the locker rooms he changed to his uniform, he noticed a note taped to the door of his locker:  _ Rookie, you have to provide your own lock for your locker - Lieutenant Branagh  _

The rookie took the note to remind him to buy a lock later, he was walking out of the locker room checking the map for the west office. When he bumps into someone out of nowhere, he drops his map and bends down to pick it up, he then looks up to see the person he bumped into him has kneeled down to help him, and he sees it was a man who had slightly more muscle than him with generic spiky brown hair.

“I’m sorry for bumping into you, I didn’t even notice you coming out of the locker room,” the man snickers, “you’re the new guy, right?” The rookie was surprised by the friendliness of this man, so he quickly got up when he realized he was just staring at him and not responding.

“Yeah, I am, how does everyone know that? Do you guys not get enough new guys in here?” The man got up from his kneeled position to be at eye level with the rookie, and he keeps a gentle smirk.

“Surprisingly we don’t,” the man shrugs, “we  _ are _ a big city, so you might expect a new guy here and there but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Besides, the Lieutenant wouldn’t stop talking about the new guy that was starting today, he always gets excited over things like this.” This shocked the rookie considering that the RPD was the only place that actually accepted his job application, so he felt they were just as desperate as him and truly didn’t care who he was. 

“Wait…  _ Where _ is the Lieutenant, am I too early? I haven’t seen any other officers other than the front desk and night shift ones.”

“I work for S.T.A.R.S. so my schedule is slightly different from the normal police officers, but knowing him he should already be here, so you should get down to the west office and find him.” He looked at the map to see how to get there, still having slight trouble figuring out the layout of the building.

“Thanks for the info, I’ll… uh, head there right away,” the rookie starts walking away while mumbling to himself, “once I figure out  _ how _ to get there.” He then feels a strong grip on his shoulder, to turn around to see the man on the brink of laughter.

“You have no idea on how to get there, do you?” The rookie finally admits he needs help, and the man helps him how to get there before changing into his uniform. “By the way, my name is Chris, Chris Redfield, what’s yours  _ rookie _ ?”

“I’m Leon Kennedy.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Leon, don’t worry about getting lost, you’ll get used to it eventually since most people stay in their own little corners anyways.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I don’t know how used to it I would really become to…  this.” The rookie almost stopped walking when he realized his underlying fear, he thought it was just the first-day-jitters, but he now knows that was the door blocking the fire. Chris then drops his smirk for a serious face, and pats the rookie on the shoulder with enough gentle force to snap him out of his thoughts.

“Leon, I was like you when I first started too. I then got promoted to S.T.A.R.S. and I thought I was  _ way _ over my head, but I met these amazing people who brought the best out of me. You must trust your leader and trust yourself, and you will soon become the best.” Chris continued his monologue as Leon looked at him in aw, he’s like a real life hero. After his monologue he finally took the rookie to the west office, they went down the stairs and turned to a hallway, and they stopped at a door with  _ West Office _ on the hazy window of the door. It was almost comical how close to it he was, he could have easily found it by himself, and Chris knew that yet still helped him. “Oh man, it was  _ this _ close, I would’ve found it eventually. You really didn’t have to do this, I’m serious.”

“You need to get it through your thick skull, Leon, it’s not a bad thing to be the  _ new guy _ , and I don’t mind helping you. Besides, I have a lot of paperwork to do now that I recently came back from a mission, so this is a useful distraction.” Chris patted Leon on the back, and he left after reassuring him one last time with a simple “you got this, Leon.”

Leon looked at Chris as he left, thinking  _ he’s like a big brother _ , and after Chris was no longer visible he finally turned around and entered the west office. He then sees a banner made up of blue circles with yellow letters in each circle on top of the desks reading:  _ Welcome Leon _ , and he then gets surprised by a group turning to see him and screaming in unison. “Welcome to the force Leon!” The rookie blushed profusely, he was speechless, and soon swarmed by people greeting him with smiles. They then moved apart as one man walked in the middle of the small crowd towards the rookie. This man had a gentle face and was average height with a shaved head, this man was the Lieutenant. He gave off the presence of  a strong-willed and respected man, the others laugh, bumped or joked about one another, but they don’t do that with this man.

“Everyone, I would like to properly introduce you all to our rookie,” everyone in the room quiet down in unison, “this here is Leon Scott Kennedy! He is now one of us, part of the team, so welcome him with open arms.”

“Thank you Lieutenant, I’m genuinely excited to be working here, but you guys didn’t  _ have _ to this for me. I do appreciate it though.”

“Leon, don’t worry, here let me show you to your desk,” the rookie followed him, “you won’t do field work since your new, but we do have a lot of paperwork for you. This is just as important, tomorrow you go on patrol with Elliot. Welcome to the force Leon, I’m excited to see what the future brings.”

The Lieutenant went back to his office and started working right away, the rookie soon heard someone whispering his name, so he turned to his right to see a woman waving for him to come over to her desk. The got up once he notice the Lieutenant was too busy to notice, and went straight to the woman’s desk.

“Hey rookie, I mean Leon, I brought a small cake for everyone,” the woman shows him a small chocolate cake, “I’ve been waiting for you to arrive so we can all have a slice, to properly celebrate your addition to the team!” 

“Thanks, but shouldn’t we be working, I mean the Lieutenant is right-”

“Hush rookie, she’s trying to do something nice for you, and you won’t believe how annoying it was to hear ‘ _do you think the rookie likes chocolate? Is it okay to bring a small cake?_ ’ it was also distracting, just have a slice!” The officer sitting across from her was annoyed enough to speak up, he was the closest to the Lieutenants door, so he can be heard easily.

“Shut up Elliot, I just wanted to do something nice!”

“Well I was tired of hearing the same shit for almost a week, Rita!” he said her name in a condescending tone. Leon couldn’t believe that was  _ the _ Elliot he was going on patrol with, he feels they will definitely bump heads more than once. He finally agreed to have a piece and share it with the whole room, and as he took a bite he notice how it melted in his mouth.

“Rita, this is delicious, where did you buy it?” the rookie said with a mouthful of cake.

“I actually couldn’t find the cake I wanted, so I made one instead, that’s why it’s so small” Everyone turned to her with shocked faces, why is she a police officer if she has this hidden talent for baking! Praise came one after the other for her cake, that’s when the rookie noticed the bond this team has built, and how even the most stubborn can admit when they’re wrong. Elliot was eating the cake with a small smile, telling Rita how glad he was that she didn’t buy one instead. As Leon noticed this exchanged he felt optimism in his future with this group, he knew that these people are here to do the same as him, but he’s still uneasy about tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is long, probably too long, but this length is the only way I can convey this. The rough draft was even longer, so I already cut out a good chunk of that.


	4. The Sister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rookie will soon find out what a small world he lives in.

The rookie finished all his work for the day, he was ready to head out the front when he noticed a bright red jacket. It was a woman talking to the receptionist, she seemed upset, but it wasn’t directed at anyone. They exchanged words, at a respectable level, and the woman walked away and sat at a bench nearby. Leon couldn’t shake the feeling that he’s seen her before, so he walked to the desk in order to investigate. When he reached the desk the receptionist held one finger as he started talking on the phone, the conversation was purposely vague, so the rookie waited patiently until it was over.

“Sorry about that rookie, how can I help you?” The receptionist said with a smile.

“Nothing really, I just wanted to know what was going on with _her_ and if you needed help,” the rookie looked at the woman who was now reading a magazine, “who is she anyways?”

“She’s looking for her brother who’s a S.T.A.R.S. member, he is supposed to be back from a mission, so it’s your average worried family member deal.” The rookie was just about to push for more information, when a man put a hand on his shoulder, he turned and saw that it was Chris. Just when they were going to exchange greetings a woman’s voice interrupted.

“Chris?” It was the red-haired woman, “Why didn’t you call me when you got back from your mission? I was worried sick, I thought the worst happened!” She hit Chris repeatedly on his right arm. The rookie believed this was his girlfriend at first, but remembered what the receptionist told him.

“Chris, who is this?” The rookie interrupted, he couldn’t shake the feeling that they’ve met before.

“Leon, I would like you to meet my sister, Claire,” he ruffled her hair that was up in a ponytail, “And Claire, this is Leon, he’s the rookie.” Leon extended his hand and Claire quickly shook it, he noticed her intense stare, it was almost as if she was studying him.

“Aren’t you that creepy guy from the gas station?” His heart dropped, the mystery was solved, and now his mind was running to find an excuse. “You totally are! Chris he was just _staring_ at me, that was really really _really_ creepy dude.”

“I didn’t mean to stare at you, I mean, I realize _now_ how creepy it must’ve looked like, but I promise that was not my intention!” Leon was doing damage control at this point. “I was eavesdropping on your conversation, not that _that’s_ any better.” Claire and Leon both turned to Chris, signaling for help at this point.

“Leon, you’re definitely bad with women, but I’m glad in a weird sense.” Chris said with a deceiving smile. “Anyways, now that you’re both introduced how about you start over, with no creepy staring this time?” Claire locks eye with the rookie, waiting for his response.

“I don’t mind if you don’t, Claire?” The rookie said with a reassuring smile.

“Yeah, I guess I’m up for a fresh starts.” Claire extended her hand, which the rookie quickly shook. Claire retracted her hand, and quickly turned to Chris. “Oh, Chris, I kinda came here on a whim, and I was staying at a Motel to rest up, you’d be surprised how tiring a 6 hour bike ride can be.” She said, trying to hide how desperate she sounded.

“You want to stay at my place until you go back, is that right?” Chris interrupted.

“Well yeah. The owner is kinda a douchebag anyways, and I’m kinda scared he’ll use the master key to come in to my room.” Claire wasn’t one to admit defeat, if she did then she would justified it. As Chris and Claire talked and teased, the rookie noticed they physical attributes. They definitely look similar, except their hair color. Claire had a more auburn than red hair, while Chris was full brown hair. Chris had significantly more muscle, but Claire looked fit enough to defend herself. Claire looked younger than Chris, but she seemed to be more independent and outspoken. His mind soon started to wonder why Claire came all the way just to check up on him, why not just call? It would seem rude to ask personal questions.

“Claire, it’s fine, besides you’ll have to go back to college eventually!”

“Actually, I finished for the year, so I’m kinda on my summer vacation right now,” Claire started to sound nervous, “if you don’t have any missions coming up, can I stay with you until I need to go back?”

“Claire…” Chris noticed the two listening, he whispered in Claire’s ear, the rookie couldn’t make out what it was. “Leon, I’m glad to have helped you today, but I need to head home, let’s go Claire.” Claire followed him, both continued talking as they neared the exit, but the rookie can feel the tension that arose when she asked that question. He wants to ask Chris the next day, but he only met the guy that day. He excuses himself soon after they had left, when he reaches his car he hears his name being called out, it was too dark to see the stranger.

“Leon, right?” it was Rita’s voice, “Everyone is still calling you ‘rookie’ since you are one, but I feel that demeans a person.”

“I don’t mind, really, is there something you wanted to talk about, Rita?” Leon felt calm now.

“Not really,” Rita finally walked in to the light, “I came to help _you_ , more specifically help you deal with Elliot tomorrow.” Leon could tell she felt uneasy talking about him. “I just want you to know he’s not a bad person, he’s definitely a stubborn ass, but not a bad one. I don’t know if you can tell, but he’s pretty old. He’s been in the force long before you were born.”

“He looks well for his age,” Leon interrupted, “don’t worry Rita, I can handle myself.” Rita sighed in relief, the rookie thought of her as the “mother” of the group.

“Oh, before I forget, I don’t mind that you call _me_ Rita, but the others and especially the Lieutenant would prefer a formal greeting. It’s mostly temporary until they start to trust you, some are not that formal, but Elliot is a stickler for that.” Rita soon left after a few more words of advice, the rookie thanked her, he then got in his car and headed home. As he drove back he had the excitement of his first day still on him, it felt like a dream, a distant one he thought he would never reach. He smiles thinking about the new people he met, but frowns when he realized their underlying issues. He starts to worry about Claire, what could actually bring her here and why was she was so adamant for staying with Chris. Chris dropped his smile when she asked to stay with him the entire summer, he slammed his brakes, he almost ran past a red light with how distracted he was. He stared at the blinded red light, he decided at that moment to ask Chris about it tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to get at least one chapter out per week, but some might take me over two weeks to complete. I appreciate everyone's patience.


	5. Patrol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon goes on patrol with Elliot, but it's not how he imagined it to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow build, other characters will be introduced and become more prominent in future chapters.

Today marked the day Summer officially started, and the day the rookie will be on patrol for the first time. Elliot had been driving him around the city for a couple of hours now, yet he hadn’t spoken a word to the rookie. Every attempt to start a conversation was met with grumbles or one-worded answers, so Leon stopped trying eventually. Nothing eventful had happened, no speeding cars, nothing that needed their attention. The rookie’s stomach must’ve been rumbling loud enough for Elliot to hear, because he asked him if he wanted to eat, and the rookie accepted gleefully.

“Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger, may I take your order?” the employee enthusiastically, which was unsettling.

“Yeah, can I have a Double Goodness burger, no pickles,” Elliot turned to the rookie, “hurry up and pick, don’t worry about the price, I’m paying.”

“You don’t have to pay for me, you know that right?” Leon responded.

“Yeah, I know that.” Elliot’s expression did not waver.

They received their food only minutes later, Elliot ordered they eat in the car. Not a word was spoken, this was making the rookie uncomfortable, so he decided to try to talk with him one last time.

“Elliot?” Elliot turned to glare at the rookie.

“It’s **Officer Watts** , don’t forget that.” Elliot’s voice turned colder.

“I’m sorry, Officer Watts,” Leon looked forward, “can I ask you something? You don’t have to answer, but I just  _ have _ to ask.”

The only response was a  _ Hmph _ , so the rookie decided to ask.

“I want you to answer honestly,” Leon turned to Elliot and looked him straight in the eyes, “do you  _ hate _ me, Officer Watts?”

“I don’t-” is all Elliot could mutter, he put his burger down so he could properly answer. “I don’t  _ hate _ you rookie, but I find you  _ annoying _ for sure. I’m going to give you a few words of advice: take your job seriously.”

“I don’t understand,” the rookie said confused, “what are you saying?”

“Listen up rookie, stop prancing around!” Elliot started screaming. “This isn’t the boy scouts, this is police work, these are  _ real _ guns and  _ real _ tasers,” Elliot pointed at his weapons,  “and someone might point one at  _ you _ or at  _ me _ one day. You better have a fucking level head for when that happens, every  _ good _ man I’ve worked with hesitates because they can’t see that as an option, and they forget that the crazy  **motherfuckers** out there don’t care  _ who _ you are!” Elliot kept inching closer to Leon’s face, making him feel every word. Leon did not move, he felt this man’s loss. He looked at his face as he slowly looked down, pain washes over it, and all the rookie can do is stare with empathy.

The silence was broken by a woman’s scream, both officers turned to see someone running from an alleyway, she pushed through a gap in the chain link fence. It was a woman wearing a red dress and black heels, she had short black hair, and looked Asian. She was soon followed by two muscular men, both white, one blond while the other brunette, and both looked like trouble.

“Rookie, go help the woman, I’ll get the two guys!” Elliot ordered as he got out the car. The rookie followed the command without hesitation, quickly caught the woman in his arms, she looked frantic.

“Ma’am, can are you alright?” The rookie couldn’t tell if she had injuries.

“I am now, but those two guys were about to rob me! I then saw your police car, and decided to gun it.” The woman said in between sobs. The rookie sat her down at a bench, he then called for backup, as he noticed the two men trying to fight Elliot. He couldn’t help because the woman had a strong grip on his arm, it surprised him how much strength she had. When he turned back to Elliot he noticed one of the men on the ground, he had been tased, then the other guy charged and punched Elliot on the jaw. He fell to the ground, but he got himself back up. Leon desperately tried to shake the woman’s grip, but she held on like glue, so he pleaded to her to no avail. The guy who was tased eventually got back up, he noticed one of them reaching behind, and pulled out an officer’s worst nightmare.

“Gun!” The rookie shouted, in hopes that Elliot would react in time, but he was too slow. Two pops were heard, and the men ran back into the alleyway as Elliot fell to the ground. Leon violently took his arm back, which made the woman fall off the bench, and ran towards the wounded officer. He radioed for an ambulance, seconds later their backup arrived. Leon was already applying pressure to one of the wounds, Elliot grunted in pain, and breathed quickly. The other officers ran out their cars to help, one dealt with the woman and the other applied pressure to the second wound, and they waited until the ambulance arrived. The paramedics rushed Elliot to the hospital, and the rookie followed in the car.

He paced around the waiting room, he called the office to inform them, and they arrived minutes later. Rita and the Lieutenant were the only two able to come, they finished their remaining work quickly, and both rushed over. The rookie became frantic, they both tried calming him down, he was still visibly shaken from it. His uniform covered in blood, his fingernails were red, and all he could see was Elliot as he laid on his pool of blood. On the verge of tears, he recounted the events.

“I should’ve stopped them, shot back,” the rookie blamed himself, “maybe yanked my arm away faster, I should have helped… it’s all my fault.”

“No it’s not!” Rita grabbed his shoulders.

“Officer Jones is right, there are somethings we can’t foresee or change, and beating yourself up over it isn’t helping anyone!” Marvin added.

They worked together to calm down the rookie, and as the storm settled they waited to asses the damage. Three hours had passed, all were getting worried as it turned to five, and became desperate as it came to be eight. Thankfully a doctor came looking for them before it reached ten, and gave them news in a direct manner.

“As you can see, he is stable, but he will have to rest here for a while. Those bullets caused some serious damage, but the bullets stayed mostly intact. The first one pierced his stomach, and the second one broke a rib and ricocheted in to his collarbone, which grazed his heart and broke his collarbone.” The rookie was the only one who stopped listening, as he stared at a man with tubes that ran all around his face, and a  _ beep  _ filled the silence.

Over the past couple of days, flowers and people visited. He woke up after being unconscious for three days, but he had been heavily medicated for his pain, which caused him to be in a daze. So the rookie decided to continue going to work normally, he tried to not let this keep him, but it was hard when all he could see was…  _ that _ moment. His whole body slammed into someone’s back while he was deep in thought, he looked up from the floor to see a familiar face. It was Chris, he hadn’t seen him for a week, and he was informed he took a vacation for that time. A woman appeared on his right, Claire, and she seemed happy to see him.

“Oh, hey Leon!” She smiled at him.

“Leon, we gotta stop meeting like this!”  Chris patted Leon’s shoulder. “By the way, we heard what happened, that’s a rough way to start your first day. I can’t imagine what you felt, if you need anything just ask, right Claire?” Chris said in his big-brother-tone, and Claire agreed with him. Leon took the opportunity to ask Chris about his week absence, and to change the subject.

“Why did you take a whole week off, Chris?” Leon asked directly.

“For personal reasons,” Chris looked away, “don’t take this the wrong way, but I’d rather not talk about it. Maybe some other time.” The rookie noticed how Claire looked ashamed, so he believed it had something to do with her sudden appearance. The atmosphere became dense, so they all decided to part ways, and the rookie continued on his work day. 

It was still hard to concentrate, but he took the Lieutenant’s advice, what he told him in the hospital and on the day after that. He always visited Elliot after work, but only for one hour. He was always asleep when he came, he seemed to be improving, at least that’s what the doctor said. He would silently sit next to his bed, and ponder if he could’ve done something. Every time he was headed out he saw Rita coming in, they would have short conversations, and all involving Elliot’s condition. But this time it was the Lieutenant, he came to say he would go on patrol again, but with Rita this time. The rookie was placed on desk duty for the week, and everyone agreed this was the best option. He had no intention jumping into field work, but it was inevitable. Rita came walking down the hallway, and she confirmed it as she heard the conversation. The rookie was very hesitant, but they both reassured him. He was not being forced to, they would understand if he refused, but he eventually agreed.

He couldn’t stop worrying as he left the hospital, if Rita was in trouble, would he be able to help her? Rita is different to Elliot, almost like the mother he lost, and she looked out for him from day one. Elliot was harsh, but he now understood why, and what Rita meant on that day in the parking lot. He was older, so he had seen more, more of the same violence. Something that would drive most people insane, or to be as harsh as him. Rita had probably seen the same violence, but she somehow keeps an uplifting demeanor. Probably the reason behind her constant head-butting with Elliot, they approach the world differently.

The rookie drove around the city in a zombie state, yet he hadn’t crashed or caused an accident. He looked up as a bright neon sign blinded him, it was the burger place, so he took a sharp turn into it ignoring all the honking. He parked poorly and ran out the car, not worrying whether he locked it, and he stopped. He noticed a slight red tint on the ground, it had been washed poorly, so the rookie kneeled and placed his hand on it. He whispers an apology, but the moment was cut short by a loud bang coming from the garbage can behind him. He drew his pistol and pointed at it, but breathes a sigh of relief when he notices a raccoon running away, but he doesn’t loosen his grip on his gun, his eyes followed the raccoon as it retreated to the alleyway. The same alleyway the two who shot Elliot ran in to, he frowned, they escaped and are yet to be found. His body burned with a desire for revenge, he doesn’t noticed his grip tightening, until a loud  _ pop _ and a slight pain from his hand woke him up. He had accidentally shot his gun, which caused him to drop it in fear, so he stared at it before he picked it up. It became a sign to him on how lost he felt, drowning in his self hate, and unable to move on. He could have easily killed, easily caused someone to end up like Elliot, and easily become the thing he hates. Luckily none of the buildings have windows facing the back of the burger place, but he knew that didn’t excuse his actions. He grabbed his gun, holstered it, and walked back to his car. He stopped and whispered one last apology without looking back, and headed straight home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kudos and comments, I read all of them, so please feel free to leave any.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic, as you can see I tend to use a lot of creative freedom with writing, please tell if I do it too much, or if you have any other tips for me that would be great. If you have specific fanfics you would like to see then please tell me in the comments!


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